Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Media Stocks--Newspaper, TV, Radio, etc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MJ who wrote (416)	4/8/2012 2:36:34 AM
From: joseffy	Respond to of 826

NBC's defense of fired producer by Rick Moran April 7, 2012 americanthinker.com NBC has fired the producer responsible for splicing together snippets from George Zimmerman's 911 call to make it appear that his shooting of Trayvon Martin was racially motivated. NBC aired the edited tape on the Today Show. Media Decoder: The segment in question was shown on the "Today" show on March 27. It included audio of Mr. Zimmerman saying, "This guy looks like he's up to no good. He looks black." But Mr. Zimmerman's comments had been taken grossly out of context by NBC. On the phone with a 911 dispatcher, he actually said of Mr. Martin, "This guy looks like he's up to no good. Or he's on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around, looking about." Then the dispatcher asked, "O.K., and this guy - is he white, black or Hispanic?" Only then did Mr. Zimmerman say, "He looks black." The network "apologized" for the "error" and then two days later, fired the producer of the segment. Is there any way that the editing could be construed as an innocent mistake? Inside NBC, there was shock that the segment had been broadcast. Citing an anonymous network executive, Reuters reported that "the 'Today' show's editorial control policies - which include a script editor, senior producer oversight and in most cases legal and standards department reviews of material to be broadcast - missed the selective editing of the call." But one day later it dismissed a Miami-based producer who had worked at NBC for several years. The people with direct knowledge of the firing characterized the misleading edit as a mistake, not a purposeful act. Tom Maguire points out that NBC is virtually forced to say that the editing was a "mistake" because to admit to a deliberate act would leave them open to legal issues -- like a fat, juicy defamation suit from Zimmerman. So what are the chances that a "script editor, senior producer oversight and in most cases legal and standards department review" would have missed this blatant attempt to portray Zimmerman as a racist? NBC needs to clear the air on this matter.

To: MJ who wrote (416)	4/8/2012 3:55:25 AM
From: joseffy	Respond to of 826

Nameless Scapegoat Watch: By Mickey Kaus 4/8/2012 dailycaller.com 1) WaPo‘s Erik Wemple wonders why NBC didn’t quickly come clean about its so-bad-it-seems-intentional mis-edit of the Zimmerman 911 call. Why not immediately “go into detail on exactly what had happened and what disciplinary measures would be taken”? I suspect the answer has something to do with the possibility of a libel suit from Zimmerman. As JustOneMinute‘s Tom Maguire reminded me, when you publish something so bad you face a giant adverse defamation verdict–well that’s exactly when you try not to fire the reporter or editor responsible. If you fire them, they’re likely to cut a separate deal with the plaintiff and testify in court about how sloppy your editorial practices were, how you had it in for plaintiff all along, etc. You keep the reporter close, however incompetent they’ve proven to be. You can fire them later. Like other tort laws, libel laws are in practice the enemy of transparency. … 2) How long will the now-fired Nameless Scapegoat editor remain nameless? Not long, I’d guess. … Also, did NBC offer a can-we-still-be-friends monetary… cushion along with the dismissal? … 3) In this case, I suspect the N.S. might have some valuable information to offer a plaintiff’s lawyer. Like how maybe there was a surge of enthusiasm at, yes, the highest levels of NBC News for turning this story into a clear cut emotional morality play (fueled by trendy social media!) and riding it to higher ratings for days, if not weeks. If you go to the March 20 Nightly News broadcast (available here) you can see NBC’s Ron Allen letting viewers imagine the racial epithet Zimmerman used for the man he was following. Oh, wait. … The N.S. was reportedly a “seasoned” producer. Seasoned producers (and reporters) know what the bosses want. … Read more: dailycaller.com